RED SPACE TRAVEL

The Rise and Fall of a Cosmic Superpower

Author:

Juergen Ast | Karlheinz Eyermann

Director:

Juergen Ast

Commissioning Editors:

Johannes Unger | Peter Guette | Detlef Jungjohann

Duration:

2 x 45'

Production:

Tele Potsdam | for ORB | MDR | BR | ARTE

The story of the Soviet space travel: a story full of glamour and misery, glorious moments and failures, well kept secrets of catastrophes and human tragedies. Cosmonautic regarded as an instrument for the military strategists, as a challenge for the scientists and as a propagandistic wonder weapon in the Cold War.

The two-part documentary-film tells the story of the rise and fall of the cosmic superpower Soviet Union in chronological order. It recalls the so called "Sputnik-Shock" and the legend of Yuri Gagarin, the tragedy of "Sojus-1" and the hope of "Buran", the Soviet space shuttle. Not everything worked out as perfectly as it was later presented to the public. Only now available secret documents and never before in the West published film-footage grants a first time look behind the mirror. A story full of secrets, the forbidden world of the military-industrial complex of the Soviet Union. After the breakdown of the Soviet Union American buyers are very much interested in the scientific work and the technology from the former competitor. Does the possible sell-out mean the end of Russian space exploration?